Worcester man facing heroin charges after traffic stop in Sturbridge

During a routine traffic stop, a Worcester man allegedly threw a 40-gram bag of heroin out the passenger side window, hoping that the state trooper would not see it. No such luck.

Miguel A. Espinal-Demota, 20, of 17 Endicott St., Worcester, and Jose M. Carrasco, 19, of Yonkers, N.Y., are both charged with trafficking of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

At 1:39 a.m. Thursday, state Trooper Yuriy P. Bukhenik stopped a black Honda Accord for two marked lane violations. The Honda, which was traveling east on Route 84, also had a front passenger window darker than factory issue and below the 35 percent standard, according to the police report.

While speaking to Mr. Carrasco, who was the driver of the Honda, the trooper could smell an odor of fresh marijuana coming from inside the vehicle, the police report states.

Mr. Espinal-Demota and Mr. Carrasco told the trooper that they had visited New York for the day. Given that Hurricane Sandy had devastated the New York area, the trooper stated it made no sense that they had traveled to New York for just a few hours, according to the police report.

The trooper spotted an off-white, plastic-wrapped item approximately three-inches in length and labeled “40” outside, near the passenger side of the vehicle. When the vehicle was stopped, Mr. Espinal-Demota had allegedly dropped the 40-gram bundle of heroin out the window, but the bundle of heroin was in the trooper’s direct line of sight and path of travel and was immediately noticed, according to the police report.

Both men were arraigned Thursday in Dudley District Court. Mr. Carrasco’s bail was set at $5,000, while Mr. Espinal-Demota’s bail was set at $1,500. Both men are due back in court for a pretrial hearing Nov. 30.